Wednesfield Academy

Wednesfield Academy is a highly inclusive secondary school that has undergone significant change since its previous inspection, including a new academy trust and changes in senior, subject and pastoral leadership. Inspectors found a purposeful school where pupils feel safe and happy, relationships are warm and respectful, and expectations for achievement are high. The school is graded good in all key judgements and in sixth-form provision, although it does not receive an overall effectiveness grade under current arrangements. The school has rapidly raised expectations around learning and behaviour and has built an ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum for all pupils, including those with SEND. Pupils generally work hard, behave sensibly and benefit from strong personal development, careers guidance and reading support. Sixth-form students are positive about their learning and make a significant contribution through leadership and mentoring roles. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, and staff feel well supported by the trust and school leaders. However, the ambitious curriculum has not yet led to consistently improving outcomes in all subjects by the end of key stage 4. Some teachers do not check pupils' understanding well enough or adapt learning to address gaps and misconceptions, and some do not promote sufficiently in-depth discussion or questioning. A reducing number of pupils occasionally do not follow the school's high behaviour expectations, and PSHE delivery is not consistently strong in some lessons.

Strengths

• Highly inclusive school where everyone is valued
• High expectations for pupils to achieve well
• Warm and respectful relationships between pupils and staff
• Pupils feel safe and say they are happy in school
• Purposeful atmosphere with positive behaviour around school
• Strong emphasis on pupils' personal development and mental health
• Pupils understand diversity and equality in society
• Leadership opportunities including mental health ambassadors and sixth-form mentors
• Ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum for all pupils, including those with SEND
• Effective SEND identification and support through teacher 'passports'
• Strong support for pupils who are not confident readers
• High attendance, including significantly high sixth-form attendance
• High-quality careers guidance and extensive 'next steps' information
• Well-designed PSHE curriculum covering healthy relationships and online safety
• Sixth-form teachers engage students in challenging and independent learning
• Staff feel very well supported and consulted about policy changes
• Trust provides bespoke, targeted and rapid support with effective trustee challenge
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Outcomes are not yet consistently improving across all subjects by the end of key stage 4
• Some teachers do not check pupils' understanding well enough
• Some teachers do not adapt learning to address pupils' gaps or misconceptions
• Some teachers do not promote appropriate in-depth discussion between pupils
• Some questioning does not deepen pupils' knowledge and understanding sufficiently
• A reducing number of pupils occasionally do not follow the school's high behaviour expectations
• PSHE information is not consistently presented or discussed in sufficient depth in some lessons

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Wednesfield Academy attended 92.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 21.8% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 14.6% of pupils at Wednesfield Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 7 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Wednesfield Academy had 13.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.4% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 6.2% of pupils at Wednesfield Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Wednesfield Academy received £8,595 and spent £8,549 for each of its 1,029 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £2,650,000 (£2,575 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Matrix Academy Trust, income was £8,375 and spending £9,033 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Wolverhampton · Wolverhampton local authority: places and applications

Wednesfield Academy is part of Matrix Academy Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Pool Hayes Primary School Willenhall
• Bloxwich Academy Walsall
• Elmwood School Walsall
• Smestow Academy Wolverhampton
• Barr Beacon School Walsall
• Dame Elizabeth Cadbury School Birmingham
• Turves Green Boys' School Birmingham
• Etone College Nuneaton

What is Wednesfield Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Wednesfield Academy is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Wednesfield Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Wednesfield Academy was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Wednesfield Academy have?

Wednesfield Academy has 1,025 pupils on roll.

What age range does Wednesfield Academy cover?

Wednesfield Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Wednesfield Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 46.5, and 49% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Wednesfield Academy?

Wednesfield Academy is at Lichfield Road, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV11 3ES.